Tag: January

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January Sketchbook Challenge

Sketchbook Challenge – Day 28

Day 28 – Draw two objects that typically are not found together. 

You can handle this sketch a few ways- 

  1. You could simply use your imagination and juxtapose two objects together.
  2. You can find two objects in your home and create a unique composition.
  3. Or, you can do a Google search for random objects found together. 

How you go about this is up to you! Have fun. Don’t be afraid to be creative and a little odd. 

Pushing boundaries will help inspire more creativity.

I can’t wait to see what you come up with. 

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January Sketchbook Challenge

Sketchbook Challenge – Day 27

Day 27 – Draw a view from one of your rooms inside your dwelling.

Maybe you are sitting in bed early in the morning. What do you see off in front of you?

Or, maybe you are sitting at the kitchen table. What do you see when you look straight ahead? 

Perhaps you have a comfy chair in your living room. You can probably turn your head a variety of ways to find a view you would like to capture in your sketchbook!

It can be a wide perspective or a small one. Be brave. Try to capture the angle of where you are viewing that particular part of the room. Maybe set up a vanishing point to help guide your lines. No need to get too technical. It can be wonky and scribbly. And, it can be as detailed as you have time and patience for. 

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January Sketchbook Challenge

Sketchbook Challenge – Day 26

Day 26 – Draw a plant.

You choose whether it is a houseplant or a plant found outside. 

Take the time to really see the plant. See its overall shape. See the values that join together to make a whole composition. And, don’t be afraid to make that shadow the darkest part of your drawing. Lights need the darks to pop. If you are looking at your sketch and thinking that it seems a bit dull, try pushing those darks a bit. 

It’s OK to make a mistake or overwork a piece. That’s how you learn, right? 

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January Sketchbook Challenge

Sketchbook Challenge – Day 25

 

Day 25- Draw something you have found on the ground outside.

Maybe you are in a position to take a walk somewhere, maybe even around your neighborhood. When and if you do, notice what’s on the ground, underneath your feet. 

Find an interesting object–It can be natural or it can be man-made. Maybe you will be lucky enough to find an object that clearly doesn’t belong out in the wild, but somehow landed in that exact spot, and at that exact time you were walking.

Study its shape and values. Try to capture its essence in your sketchbook. 

If you are not in a position to walk outside, see if there is something that can be found on the floor wherever you are. Feel free to get creative!

 

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January Sketchbook Challenge

Sketchbook Challenge – Day 20

Can you believe we are at Day 20? Pause for a moment and celebrate the fact that you have been sketching and taking on these challenges since the beginning of the month. Keep going! 

OK. For today’s prompt, we are going to draw a towel. Now, this is going to be a bit of a challenge because you have to use a very rigid tool in order to create something soft. 

Place your towel in different positions until you like a composition you want to draw. You can fold it neatly or lay it out so that it has folds and crevices. It’s up to you!

Here’s a tip: Start light and work in layers. Light pressure. Light layers. Build up from those light layers gradually until you are satisfied. The tonal ranges in a towel will be soft and gradual. Don’t be in a hurry to darken it.

Remember, this is more about the practice and the learning to see than the end result. Don’t get stuck on the latter if it doesn’t match exactly what you envision.

Keep learning to see!

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January Sketchbook Challenge

Sketchbook Challenge – Day 19

For today’s prompt: Draw an open book!

Previously you drew a stack of books. Now today, choose one book. Maybe it is your favorite one to date, or the most influential in your life.

If you can, try to find a book that fans out with a good amount of pages. The picture above is a good example. 

Play with looking at it from different angles, then decide on one to sketch from. This prompt will help you strengthen your ability to see your subjects better. Look at the angle of how the pages lie. Try to see where there are darker and broader lines versus thin, softer lines. When it comes to drawing, learning to see is key. And, you get better at seeing when you start to look. I mean, really look. Sketching ordinary objects are great for this. Actually, taking the time to sketch anything, in my opinion, helps you to starting seeing more. 

So, find a book. Open it up. Look at it from different angles and try to capture the depth, the variance in lines and values. 


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January Sketchbook Challenge

Sketchbook Challenge – Day 18

For today’s prompt, let’s honor a hero – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

He stood for peace, for love, for togetherness. So, for today, in your sketchbook, draw something that inspires just that – love, peace, togetherness.

Today’s prompt is very broad in scope. So if it helps, here are some ideas:

  1. Draw MLK or some snapshot from his life.
  2. Draw something or someone that inspires love, peace, togetherness. 
  3. Draw something that you dream and hope for.
  4. Or, play with typography. Ink or paint a quote from either Dr. King or another quote that encapsulates the ideas mentioned above (love, peace, togetherness).

After sketching it, send it into the world, and let’s fill social media with messages and images of hope, love, and peace. 

What do you say? 

Happy birthday, Dr. King. Thank you for sharing your dream so that we can do better.

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January Sketchbook Challenge

Sketchbook Challenge – Day 17

Today’s prompt: Draw a stack of books!

Go to your bookshelves or wherever you keep your books. You decide how tall your book stack will be. 

Maybe you will make it uniform with all the same type of books lined up perfectly. Or, maybe you will choose a variety of sizes and shapes and create a varied stack. 

If you want, could even play with the lighting and create a strong cast shadow. 

Who knows, maybe you will rediscover an old book that must be read again!

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January Sketchbook Challenge

Sketchbook Challenge – Day 16

Yesterday, we played with contrast by sketching something light in a dark environment. For today, we are going to reverse that.

Today’s prompt: Sketch a dark object in a light environment.

Again, feel free to go the literal or metaphorical route.

If you chose the literal route for both, reflect on the two sketches for a moment. 

Was one more challenging than the other? Why? Did you have to change how you saw your object?

As a challenge, try not to just block in the dark object in a flat black. Try to find a way to create the darker tones within that object. 

Happy sketching!

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January Sketchbook Challenge

Sketchbook Challenge – Day 15

Today’s prompt: Sketch a light object in a dark environment.

You can take this one of two ways: One is literal, while the other way being metaphorical. Choose whichever you would like to explore.

For the literal route, see if you can capture the tonal range and the stark contrast of the light vs. the dark. Maybe even challenge yourself to see the richness of the darks. Trying capturing them rather than blocking out the background in a flat black.

For the metaphorical route, perhaps you will explore what brings you light during dark times. 

Here is a quote I love from Gandalf from The Lord of the Rings: “It is the everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keeps the darkness at bay. Simple acts of kindness and love.